


Play Nice

by chapstickaddict



Category: The Hobbit (2012) RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-24
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-12-06 09:51:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/734324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapstickaddict/pseuds/chapstickaddict
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: The dwarf cast look out for their own, so when they see Richard and Lee getting close on/around the set, they take it upon themselves to make sure Lee knows they're keeping tabs on him. Lee's amused at first, thinking they're just playing up the dwarf/elf rivalry, but the joke wears a little thin, particularly as Lee's genuinely starting to fall for Richard, and while he'd never risk their friendship, he'd like to think he'd be good to Richard, and why isn't anyone worried about what happens to his heart?</p>
<p>Meanwhile Richard, oblivious, is still working up the courage to ask Lee out for a drink.</p>
<p>Bonus if the Elven cast members realise what's going on, and take the dwarves to task (Cate! Cate would kick their asses :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Play Nice

**Author's Note:**

> Translated into 中文 by [yinhc](http://archiveofourown.org/users/yinhc/pseuds/yinhc) [here](http://slashtang.com/viewthread.php?tid=505&extra=page%3D1)

Appropriately, it started with Richard.

Lee had been innocently munching away at what was left of his lunch when Ian found him, loaded down with tea and biscuits. Production was at a lull while sets were being changed about, so the actors were stuck in a limbo of hyper action and exhaustion. Most of them were surviving only from the tea and coffee from craft services. As Ian sat down, he could only describe the look on Lee's face as one of dreamily zombification. 

"Still with us, Lee?"

Lee jerked a bit, smiling at the other man as he blinked back to awareness. 

"Completely lost in thought, actually." 

"Always a splendid place to get lost in," Ian commented as he took a sip of his tea. "So I hear you know a thing or two about _Richard III_." He just managed to hide his smile behind his tea cup as Lee shot him a speculative glance. 

"And were did you hear that from?"

"The internet is a marvelous place, my boy. Particularly Wikipedia." 

Ian listened intently as the other man described the production he had been a part of during his time at Juliard, every once in a while adding comments about his own experiences with the role. But he also made it a point to keep a constant eye on the background for a certain tall brunette. 

"Richard!" Target sighted, Ian straightened and waved him over. Lee looked rather befuddled by the sudden interruption, but there was no annoyance in his face as Richard slowly approached their table, nursing his own cup of coffee. 

"We were just discussing out experiences with _Richard III_ ," Ian explained, hiding his amusement at the sudden flash of interest across Richard's face. Perfect. "I thought you'd like to contribute, seeing as your a bit of an expert."

"Really now?" Lee questioned.

"Only a bit," Richard replied quietly, eyes barely rising from his coffee cup. "We share a date in common, and my parents where rather interested in him. I picked the interest up myself a few years ago." 

"Ever played the role?" Lee asked. Ian rather surreptitiously slid his plate of biscuits between the two of them. With a few more prods from him, the conversation between the two younger actors began flowing freely. Once Richard's eyes had risen from his coffee and had stayed risen, Ian felt confident enough to leave the two of them alone.

"Excuse me gentlemen," Ian remarked quietly, making sure to barely ripple the waters of conversation as he rose to his feet and left them to each other. Neither of them seemed to notice his departure, nor the soft smile on his lips. That had been easier then he had anticipated. 

Ian was never one for matchmaking, but Richard and Lee had been dancing around each other in their own subtle, hesitant ways for weeks now. Ever since their screen tests against each other, the chemistry had been undeniable and Ian had really thought it would have only been a matter of time before they had gotten together. However, he had not foreseen how introverted and reserved both men would be, so he felt compelled to put an end to the dancing. 

James, looking alarmingly awake for the hour, was standing near the exit as Ian disposed of his cup and napkin. 

"So what's happening over there, then," James asked, nodding to the pair. 

"I daresay they're getting along."

James shot him a smile. "Dwarfs and elves don't get along. Especially not that dwarf and elf."

"Anything can be bridged with Shakespeare, my dear fellow." 

*

Three days later, Graham had managed to shove some food into Richard's hands just before filming was about to start. He was keeping a firm eye on the plate, making sure it all got eaten before they were required on set.

"Stop your fussing, mama bear," Richard told him after Graham had all but shoved a sandwich in his mouth.

"I'm sorry, did you want to talk about that lovely fainting spell during dwarf camp?"

Richard blushed heavy enough to have it be seen under his make up, but finished the rest of his food with minimal grumbling. They were just about to leave for the set when:

"Richard!" Lee came sprinting toward them, which was a rather amusing sight in near full costume, silver sleeves and blond wig bellowing. Richard, already falling back into Thorin, merely grunted when the other man (elf) stopped before them. 

"I found that book I was telling you about," Lee explained, handing over a rather worn copy the title of which Graham didn't catch. "I thought you'd like the part about Richard III and the War of the Roses."

Richard accepted it with a smile and a word of thanks, tucking it away in his bag.

"Are we still on for Prometheus this weekend?"

"Sure."

"Excellent," Lee clasped a hand on Richard's shoulder, which caused Graham's eyebrows to near crawl up his forehead. Richard had never been on for causal touches; it had taken all the dwarfs nearly six weeks of dwarf camp to get their fearless leader comfortable with the constant physical contact that came along with eleven gregarious actors. 

Richard's blush was back as he mumbled his own good byes. Lee smiled, nodded to Graham and went bounding back the way he came. 

*

"I'm sorry, what?" 

It had taken about ten minutes for word to spread among the group of actors. Now, after shooting and huddled into James' trailer, the eleven of them were plotting. 

"He seemed pretty friendly is all I'm saying," Graham commented.

"Maybe it's the American in him. They're a pretty friendly lot," Adam threw out. 

"And maybe it's the stalker in him," James replied.

"I hardly think he's a stalker," William pointed out.

"You never know. Apparently they can look like a normal person right up until they aren't."

"The point," Dean redirected. "is that Lee may not know just how reserved Richard is."

"Shy is the better word for it." Ken added.

"You think?"

"The first month we were here Richard can barely speak to any of us for more then a few minutes without going quiet and skittish, and you've seen his interviews." James pointed out. "Hell, remember when he finally admitted that it took him three weeks to unpack when he first got here because he thought he was gonna get the boot? Or the first few weeks of dwarf camp were we had to all but tie him down to talk to him?"

A mummer of agreement came from all of them. 

"Now imagine it; do you really think Richard could say no if Lee got overly friendly?"

The silence that followed was near deafening.

"So," Dean finally said. "We'll just have to say it for him."

*

Lee was humming to himself, nose deep in script revisions when he felt a weight settle on either side of him. Glancing up, he found himself bookended by Aiden and Dean, both of whom had a slightly sinister glow about them.

"Hello," he decided to start with.

"Hi Lee," Aiden responded cheerfully. "You and Richard enjoy the movies?"

"Yes," Lee drew the word out slightly, unsure why they had such a sudden interest in his off time.

"Richard have a good time?" Dean asked.

"I thought so." Lee really had no idea where this was going.

"Excellent. We just wanted to let you know, hurt him and we hurt you."

Lee had to do a quick double take at that. 

"Excuse me?" 

Aiden gave him a quick thump on the shoulder. "You heard us. Tread lightly." 

With that they were gone as quickly as they came, and Lee had to say he was a bit stunned. What just happened?

*

At the end of the day, as the wig and make up was coming off, Lee felt full of nervous energy. He wondered if Richard would be up for a quick trip to the bar after he got de-dwarfed. Only as he pulled out his phone to text the man, he found Graham in the make up seat next to him.

"Hi," the Scotsman said, a slightly demented smile on his face and hands interlaced over his stomach.

"Hi," Lee replied, feeling a strong sense of deja vu stirring in the back of his mind.

"You got plans for the evening?"

"I thought Richard and I might go out for a beer or two."

"Oh that sounds lovely," Graham replied as he got to his feet. "Just remember the golden rule."

"What's the golden rule?"

A strong, steady hand suddenly rested on the nap of his neck and Lee felt an unpleasant shiver go down his spine. 

"No means no, of course. Even if he's not saying it out loud. Be careful, or else."

Lee was shocked into silence as Graham gave him a few rough claps to the shoulder. 

"Have a great evening, Lee!"

*

Lee had spent most of his day in the training rooms, running through his series of stunts for the following week's shoots. Covered in sweat and exhausted, he had to admit it felt good to work out some of the stress of the past month or so. 

"You look like you're working hard," as voice called, and Lee turned to see Richard standing at the edge of the mat in his own work out clothes. There was a small smile on his face, so minute Lee wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't been looking for it. It was also one of the first times Richard had instigated a conversation instead of waiting for Lee. It was hard to tell if that or his workout had set Lee's heart stuttering into odd beats. 

"New stunts next week, I wanted to have everything down before then though."

"I can relate," Richard replied, hefting a training version of Orcrist in his hand. "I feel like I've spent more time here than in front of the camera." 

Lee took a few steps forward so that he was well within Richard's personal space. "I've seen some of your stuff, though. It looks great."

The conversation really wasn't all that heavy, not nearly compared to some of the conversations they had over the past week, but Lee was enjoying it all the same. For the first time, Richard seemed open and responsive, rather than the closed off shyness that usually characterized him. Not that Lee minded the shyness; he thought it was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen. But this was nice too. 

The barrel dummy came out of no where, slamming into Lee's feet and forcing him back a few steps. 

"Sorry about that, Lee," Stephen shouted across the room, not sounding very sorry at all. Jed was beside him, lips pressed together, training staff in hand. "Didn't see you there!"

*

Ian had to admit he was becoming concerned for Lee. He seemed paler then usual, eyes constantly darting to the edges of the room as if waiting to be dragged into shadow. 

"I say, Lee, you look positively ghoulish."

The other man jerked his head up, staring at Ian with rather wild eyes. 

"Come to warn me off as well?" he spat rather waspishly. Ian allowed one eyebrow to crawl up his forehead, allowing his expression to speak for him.

"Sorry," Lee muttered, burying his face in his hands. "It's been a rather long week. And I think I was just threatened with a battle axe."

"Someone raided the prop department?" Ian questioned as he took a seat beside the other man. 

"It looked real enough to me. And John looked fair too adept with them."

"Surely he didn't mean anything."

"Oh? I must have imagined the thinly veiled references to chopped off my fingers. Silly me."

Ian was a bit caught off by that. John had always seemed like such a cheerful, well intentioned man. 

"And he's not the only one," Lee continued, seeming to start on a roll. "I think they've all cornered me at one point or another the past week. I get that they're protective of him, but this is ridiculous, just assuming I'll break his heart at a whim. I'd never do that-," 

"Lee-,"

"And I can't help but think they jumped the gun a bit. I mean, I haven't even decided if I should ask him out, after all, because if he says no that's about it for any relationship we could have and that's definitely not what I want-,"

"If-,"

"And further more, he's made of sterner stuff then they give him credit for, he could well end up breaking my heart you know,"

"Lee," Ian escalating his voice to a range that captivated whole audiences in one syllable, and the other man instantly snapped his mouth shut. "What are you talking about."

Looking worn out, Lee proceeded to explain the various encountered he had found himself in over the last few days, and by the end of his story Ian very much felt he needed to go dwarf hunting. 

He should have known cards never fall that neatly into place. No matter, he thought as he pulled out his mobile. If he was going to take on an over protective pack of eleven, he would need some numbers on his side. 

*

Martin was rather flummoxed by the scene he had managed to walk into. Really, all he wanted was a bloody cup of tea, what that too hard to ask? But no, someone decided it would be a brilliant idea to let the tea run dry. And now he seemed to have stumbled across what looked be a war council on the verge of drawing blood. He blamed the lack of caffeine. 

On one side of the table sat most of Thorin's Company, _sans_ their majestic leader, all looking rather put out and defensive. On the other side sat Cate, Ian, Orlando, Hugo, and a rather sleepy looking Christopher. 

"Really Graham, this is is ridiculous," Cate was saying, doing a very good job of radiating disappointment through her lovely voice. "You've nearly scared the poor man half to death."

"That was rather the point, Cate," the Scotsman replied unrepentantly. "We wanted him to know we where concerned."

"I think you crossed the line from concerned to terrifying," Orlando shot back. "

"We just wanted to make sure Richard didn't get hurt," William replied in a reasonable voice. 

"And you tell me one time Lee's given you reason to think he would hurt anyone, let alone someone he's interested in," Hugo demanded.

"Did I miss some script revisions this morning?" Martin asked loudly, rather put out by the fact that he could count six, _six!_ near untouched cups of tea on the table. 

"There seems to be some disagreement over whether Lee and Richard should be allowed to go to dinner together," Christopher summarized in a tone that clearly announced _Your antics amuse me, mortals._ Martin decided to spare him any ridicule because he looked as sad about his empty cup as Martin was about his lack of.

"It's rather more delicate then that, I should think," Cate continued. "Some people seem to think it's perfectly okay to threaten a lovely man when all he's guilty of is being a gentleman."

"Him being a gentleman wasn't the concern," Dean volleyed. "Him staying one was."

"As admirable as that is, I can't help but feel it's a little preemptive. He hasn't even decided if pursuing a relationship with Richard is something he even wants to do yet. It is a big step off a tall cliff for most people."

"Oh please, I think whether they're interested or not is the least pressing point right now."

"You mean all this is essentially hypothetical?" Martin asked as voices began to raise again. Christopher nodded absentmindedly. 

Martin stared at both sides of the table for a long moment, before turning abruptly on his heel to face the studio at large, along with everyone between him and it. 

"Oi, Lee!" he shouted, startling a few nearby PAs and grips. "You still want to take Richard out for a drink?"

There was dead silence for a heartbeat. 

"Yes!" Lee shouted back suddenly from across the set.

"Excellent. Richard! Lee wants to take you out for a drink! Say yes!"

Richard, blushing hard enough that Martin could see the red from meters away, muttered something. 

"What was that? Come on, Richard don't leave the poor man in suspense!"

"He said yes!" a PA standing by Richard shouted back. A cheer rose up from the rest of the audience as Martin turned back to the elven/dwarf table. 

"Jolly good. Now with that all sorted out, which one of you bastards finished the bloody tea?"

*

Richard wasn't quite sure he could look anyone in the eye after Martin's impromptu shouting proposal. God, his face was still throwing off enough heat to warm him through the rest of winter. Idly, he wondered if he could sneak out the back unnoticed. But he brushed the thought off a moment later; Martin may have bluntly set them up, but he wanted to make sure Lee was okay with everything.

There was an odd look in Graham's eyes when he asked his friend if he had seen Lee, but Richard chalked it up to exhaustion. It had been a long day for everyone. 

"I saw him over by the trailers. Call if you need anything, yeah?" 

"Course," Richard said, smiling when Graham gently head-butted him in parting. 

By the time he had reached the trailer park, it was near dusk. Courage fading with the light, he had to pause a few times and talk himself into starting again. This could end disastrously. 

He'd already said yes, though. That had to count for something. 

Lee looked surprised to see him, though pleasantly so. The relaxed smile on his face was really a good look for him. 

"Hey you," Lee greeted quietly, coming out of his trailer to settle on the metal steps below him. He held a hand out, and it took a moment for Richard to realize what he was asking. 

He stepped forward wordlessly, entwining their fingers together and allowing himself to be drawn between Lee's thighs. 

"Interesting day, wasn't it?" Lee muttered, allowing the quiet tone to remain between them.

"Exciting, at the very least." 

Silence settled in, but it was the warm, welcoming kind. They stayed like that for several minutes, taking a simple pleasure in each other's company. 

"I know that," Richard started but his words caught in his throat and he pressed his lips together while his thoughts tried to work themselves out. Lee squeezed his hand encouragingly. Finally, the words flowed better. 

"Martin kind of asked already, but did you want to grab dinner some time?" 

"Martin asked you out to drinks for me, he didn't say anything about dinner," Lee teased, and Richard was convinced the man had some fascination with how many different ways he could make him blush. 

"I'd love to." Lee continued. "Let's just leave your chaperones at home, okay?"

"Chaperones?" Richard's eyebrows drew together in confusion. 

Lee brought their linked fingers to his lips to brush a soft kiss over Richard's knuckles. "I'll explain later."

*

Weeks later, he did end up explaining. 

It was one of their increasingly rare days off, and Lee had been planning to make full use of it. However all his plans went out the window at the sight of Richard nestled under the thick covers of his bed, a tantalizing glimpse of his bare shoulder and collarbone hinting his nakedness below. 

Richard was slow to wake on off days, so Lee took full advantage of his sluggish responses by planting kiss after dizzying kiss on his lips while he eased between Richard's thighs. After a particularly filthy one, Lee rested their foreheads together to watch as his fingers slowly breached Richard. He was still loose and slick from last night, so it was a fair easy transition, but Richard still gasped as his eyes widened at the sensation. His fingers tightened their hold on Lee's broad shoulders. 

Lee began trailing kisses down the side of his neck to distract from the second and third fingers, and by the time he thought Richard was prepared enough they were both hard and panting. A quick sidestep for a condom and a dab of lube, and Richard arched up, pressing them together chest to thigh as Lee eased his way into him.

"Good?" Lee gasped when he was fully settled. Richard managed a weak glare in response and landed a pinch on Lee's ass. 

"Impatient," he hissed, but the venom in his words was lost as Lee began to thrust. Richard, he had found out, could be extremely vocal when he thought no one would care, and soon the air between them was filled with groans and gasps. 

Across the room, Lee's phone went off, alerting him to a text message with it's delicate chime. 

"Should I get it?" Lee asked, punctuating his question with another deep thrust. Richard moaned and dragged him down for another sloppy kiss. 

"Never, _ah!_ never thought you had a death wish."

"I'd love to see you try, the state you're in." 

With a growl that sounded straight from Thorin's mouth, Richard initiated a move Lee strongly suspected he learned in dwarf camp that somehow found Lee on his back with the other man leaning over him, eyes dark with lust. With their positions switched, Lee allowed himself to settle back and allow him to set the pace. 

The sight of Richard relaxed, confident even, moving to his own rhythm above Lee cut any stamina he had built up out from under him, and he was soon lost. He did have enough coherency left to take Richard in hand as well, trying to tie their release together. With a bitten back cry, Richard soon spilt over Lee's hand, and the contractions around his own cock soon sent him spiraling as well. 

Blissed out exhaustion looked nearly as good on Richard as pleasure did, in Lee's opinion. 

He rose to make a quick run to the bathroom for water and a damp washcloth as Richard stretched out his long frame across the bed invitingly. It was a distracting sight indeed and Lee nearly missed his phone chiming at him again, gently reminding him that he still had to interact with people outside this room. 

It was from Ken: _Congratulations. Treat him well. We'll be watching._

Lee couldn't help but laugh at that, which prompted a hum of inquiry from across the room. 

"Looks like your chaperones aren't quite ready to let you go yet."

"What do you mean?"

Lee took in Richard's baffled expression as a thought dawned on him.

"Did you not know what was going on?"

"What are you on about?"

After a few minutes of slightly edited narration, Richard sat up, looking at him with horrified eyes. "They did what?"

Lee felt rather bad for the rest of the Company come Monday.

**Author's Note:**

> DIsclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Link to prompt: http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/4307.html?thread=7358419#t7358419


End file.
